Inglis considers crossing codes to AFL as Souths deal drags on

By Brad Walter

December 18, 2010 — 3.00am

GREG INGLIS is set to meet with AFL clubs St Kilda and Essendon as his frustration grows over the ongoing scrutiny of his deal with South Sydney by the NRL.

Inglis has repeatedly said that he does not want to leave the NRL but the Test star is becoming increasingly disillusioned by salary cap auditor Ian Schubert's refusal to accept the three-year contract he signed with the Rabbitohs.

Still waiting ... Greg Inglis.Credit:Getty Images

Inglis is understood to have considered sitting out next season if Souths can't fit him under the salary cap, but that is not a genuine option for a just-married 23-year-old paying off mortgages on a house in Melbourne and an investment property. Until his future is resolved, the Rabbitohs cannot begin paying him as he is officially still contracted to the Melbourne Storm for a further two seasons.

With the standard NRL playing contract starting on November 1, the Storm now technically owe Inglis $100,000 for the past two months and are withholding a further $200,000 in payments from last season due to a dispute over unpaid legal bills.

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While some may believe such financial pressure will force him to walk out on Souths and join Parramatta, Inglis has already stated he will not play for another Sydney club.

Therefore, if Schubert rules that Inglis's four third-party deals totalling $200,000 be included in South Sydney's salary cap, and the Rabbitohs cannot accommodate him, he has at least two options:

■ Return to Melbourne, with the Storm then forced to cut up to $600,000 in playing talent from their 2011 roster, or;

■ Follow former Queensland and Australian teammates Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau to the AFL.

However, Melbourne would not be able to adjust its playing roster to take him back, and the Storm's highest-profile fan, Molly Meldrum, an equally passionate St Kilda supporter, is believed to have helped instigate talks between the Saints and Inglis.

Inglis is also expected to meet with Essendon, whose interest in the league star was first reported by the Herald on April 30 - just a week after Melbourne was found guilty of massive salary-cap breaches that helped force one of the game's best players on to the market.

Under AFL rules, players cannot be added to a club's roster for the coming season after the annual draft, which was held last month.

But like Hunt and Folau, whose AFL contracts contain massive marketing payments outside the salary cap, Inglis would need a season learning the game before he could be expected to play at the top level.

Despite his lack of experience in AFL, Essendon great Michael Long - a leading campaigner and spokesman for indigenous rights and racial issues - believes Inglis could make the switch, and held a series of talks with him earlier this year to try to lure him to AFL.

Inglis told NRL chief executive David Gallop at a private meeting on Wednesday that one of the key reasons he wanted to join the Rabbitohs was because of the club's strong relationship with the indigenous community, and it is not hard to imagine AFL officials promoting the virtues of their own Aboriginal programs to him.